Dead Like Potter
by Mechconstrictor
Summary: Crossover with Dead Like Me. After graduation Harry dies and becomes a grim reaper with the duty of crossing over souls to the afterlife. In addition to his job, he still has to cross over Voldemort while holding a real life job. HarryGeorgia. No slash.
1. Chapter 01 Death

Dead Like Potter

Chapter 01- Death

Beta for this story is Ezra'eil

"Testing"- Speaking  
_Testing_- Thoughts

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Dead Like Me. Nor do I claim to.

Summary: Crossover with Dead Like Me. After graduation Harry dies and becomes a grim reaper with the duty of crossing over souls to the afterlife. In addition to his job, he still has to cross over Voldemort. Harry/Georgia. No slash.

A/N: For those that don't know, Georgia usually goes by the name George. Also, a Reaper appears different to those who aren't dead. Anyone who does not know her as a Reaper knows her as Millie.

* * *

London, England  
March 23, 2003

The dawn of the new day brought nothing but more despair to the life of Harry Potter. He was currently wandering the streets of London while thinking over the past couple years. It had been a couple of years since he graduated from Hogwarts and he was amazed that he lived long enough to make to graduation. Ever since he'd left, the attacks had against him had gradually increased. Voldemort no longer cared for the cloak and dagger routine. He openly attacks whenever and wherever he wants.

Harry himself had pushed away any protection the Order and Ministry offered. He figured that if Voldemort was going to attack, bodyguards would not make a difference. Anyway, he had his inheritance and could afford his own if he desired them.

Hermione and Ron had tried continuously to make him see reason. To make him see that he had to fight or everyone would die. _Typical Hermione. She loves authority and the prophecy was just one more example of authority. If she reads it as stating that I have to die, then it means that I should die like a good little slave._

Every since he told them that they could take the prophecy and shove it up Snape's arse, they mostly ignored him. He'd been using the time to study various ancient fields to see if he could find out what rituals Voldemort had done. If he could discover the exact ones, he might be able to find a weak spot.

Today he found himself sitting outside a café working on a ritual that he thought just might work. It seemed that Voldemort leeches the magic of his followers through their marks. It might be possible to overload his core and destroy them all. _Of course, there is the chance that I'm going to die with them. The only way I'd have a good chance of living would to cut the connection. It'd probably be best to use this as a last option since the only way to cut the connection is to kill myself._

His thoughts were interrupted by the waiter interrupting him again. "Excuse me sir, if you are not going to buy anything else we need this table. We are expecting a large party to arrive soon." The man's disdain for what he thought a vagabond was clear evident.

_If he only knew._

Harry looked down at his half empty cup before smiling at the man, "No, I am done here." He paid for his drink and began to walk back towards his apartment when an urgent news alert appeared on a nearby T.V.

The reporter was kinda cute. _"Nice eyes. Long legs."_ His daydream of a normal life was interrupted when she began her report. "We have just received reports that there is the possibility of pieces of the Mir Space Station landing in England. There have been confirmed reports of pieces landing within the United States. Scientists at the Royal Academy state that the Russians lost control of the station while it was de-orbiting. Instead of a controlled crash, it lingered in space long enough for the earth's rotation to place the landings over land instead of the water."

"Damn," he muttered. "Maybe I will get lucky and a piece will land on top of Voldemort. That would be amusing, death by space trash." _Though I'm not that lucky._

He tuned out the rest of the report and began his long walk home. About half way there he heard a strange whistling sound, though he could not figure out where it was coming from. As he looked around for the source of the noise, he began to notice the others around him pointing up. He looked up just in time to mutter, "This is so not my day."

When the smoke and dust cleared there was nothing there but a crater.

"What was that thing?"

"It must've come from the space station."

"Was anyone hurt?"

"I saw a man standing there."

"I see a body. Someone call for help."

"That poor guy, what a way to go."

ooo888ooo

Seattle, Washington  
Der Waffle Haus  
A few weeks later

"Everyone," began an older gentleman as he sat down in the booth. "I have some important news for you all."

He looked over to a young blonde woman, "Georgia, I have some good news for you."

"I can finally pass over?" she asked with some hope. _It's the least they can do if they won't let me return to the living._

"You've only been a reaper for a few weeks. What makes you think that you will get to quit before us?" he responded. "The good news is that you can quit your job at Happy Time. We are…"

"I can quit Happy Time?" she interrupted. _No more dealing with Delores._ "If I have to quit, I'll need some money."

"We're finally getting paid?" asked a new comer as he pushed his way into the booth.

"Eat your pie," Rube said as he pushed the plate to Georgia. "No, I am not going to start paying you all. You are doing the community a service. What I was going to say is that we have to move."

"Move?" demanded an agitated woman. "I can't move. I am applying for the police force soon."

"Roxy, this is not up to me. An external influence group in London has disappeared and we were ordered to step in until a new team can be moved in.

"Disappeared?" interrupted Mason as he was chewing his waffles. "You mean they all crossed over at the same time?"

"Will you please quit interrupting me. And don't talk with your mouth full, it's uncivilized." he scolded. "The administration will not tell me what happened. All they told me was that almost all the reapers had disappeared and we were to go there and replace them."

"Wait," asked another. "You said almost all the reapers disappeared. Does that mean some survived?"

"Betty," chided Roxy. "He said not to interrupt him anymore. I want to hear this."

"No," Rube said. "She's right. Not all of them disappeared. There is one left."

"He's probably half way around the world by now," George muttered. Now that she thought about it, so would she.

"Surprisingly, he died from the station also," he said this last part while looking at Georgia.

"Oh, you can now start a club," joked Mason between bites. "People Killed by Space Toilets."

"You're a bowl of laughs," she ground out. "Keep it up and I'll see if I can reap you. So he's new, like me."

"Yeah," he started. "From I understand he took to it quickly. Almost too quickly. It was like he wasn't that surprised to hear about Reapers. What I don't understand is why they refuse to tell me anything else about him. It's almost like there is some secret. Hopefully he'll be more forthcoming."

Georgia began, "So… were going to England. So how long do we have?"

"We leave in two days."

"What about my parents? And my sister?" asked Georgia, thinking about leaving her family.

"You've got to come to terms with it. Your dead, their not. You have to move on, it's not good to dwell in the past. I think this move will be good for all of us, especially you."

Rube began to think about what he should tell everyone. On one hand he knew some of what was going on. On the other hand he didn't want to scare them. Hell, he was scared. Something that could kill a reaper. He was hesitant in telling everyone that they could die again. And this time, they would simply cease to exist. "Everyone go home and pack up everything you can carry with you. More than likely we might not be back for a while."

_Or at all_.

ooo888ooo

Happy Time

"Millie, what are you doing here today," Delores asked in surprise when George knocked on her office door. "You're supposed to have today off.

"That's kinda the reason I'm here," she replied. "I have some news I think you should know."

"You've finally graduated from AA?" Delores guessed. "That's great news. We'll have to celebrate."

After wishing that she could tell Delores where to take this job and stick it, she had no idea how to go about it. She couldn't really do it, could she?

"Well, when do you want the party," Delores pressed.

"There isn't going to be a party, Delores. I came in to turn in my resignation…"

"You're quitting? I thought we got along, didn't we?"

"It's not…"

"I know what it is. It's that Roger guy in filing. He's been bothering you, hasn't he? I'll put a stop to it."

"Delores, that's not it. I have to move to England."

"England? What's there," Delores asked in confusion.

"My aunt is really sick and she asked if I could come over there and help her out some. She's offered me a room at her house."

"Didn't your aunt die last week?"

"That was on my mother's side. This aunt is my father's sister."

"Oh dear, you have the worst luck with family. You go and take care of your aunt. In the end, all we have is family."

"Thanks…"

"And just so you know, you will always have a job here. When you come back, just give me a call and you can start whenever."

"Thanks." _I think._

ooo888ooo

End Chapter One

ooo888ooo


	2. Chapter 02 Meetings

Chapter 02- Meetings

Beta for this story is Ezra'eil

"Testing"- Speaking  
"_Testing"_ – Thoughts and Telepathy

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Dead Like Me. Nor do I claim to.

* * *

London, England  
April 16, 2003

"So," Mason drawled. "Does anyone know how to find this Potter? Like maybe his height, fashion sense, and how rich is he? Where he lives might also be useful."

"We aren't going to look for him right now. The first thing that we are going to do is settle in," interrupted Rube before another argument could break out between Mason and Georgia. Those two had been arguing since he broke the news to them. He had no idea a little thing like moving would make Georgia mad. "Until we know what the situation is, we will be staying in one location. And I don't want anyone going off by themselves. Groups of at least two at all times."

"This place better be big enough," stated Roxy. "I'm not sharing a room with anyone here."

Mason piped in, "I wouldn't mind bunking up with Betty here. You know, for the team."

"In your dreams," replied Roxy. "She's never going to hook up with you as long as you act like a bum. Anyway, don't you have some lowlife friends here? You did die in London. Or all they all dead too?"

"Hey," he shot back. "I'm sure that some of them are still alive, I think. Not all of them were up to the challenge."

"And we all see where that got you," cut back Roxy. "Honestly, drilling a hole in your head. How dumb can you get?"

"Enough," interrupted Rube as he rubbed his head. "Could you at least wait until I'm not in the room? Now the place we are staying at has enough rooms for us all. Just wait here while I go and find us some transportation."

"Is our reaper living there?" asked Betty. "We could call ahead and let him know that we've arrived."

"Our reaper does have a name you know," declared George who had remained quiet until now. "His name is Harry. You could at least use it."

"Ah, hasn't even met the chap and Georgia is already falling for him. Young love," jumped in Mason. "Next thing you know, they'll be walking down the aisle."

"Hardly," she glared at him. "And I won't tell you again to call me George."

Right as they were about to start another argument, Rube walked back. "I've got us tickets to Victoria Station. From there we will take a taxi to the house."

"So where exactly is this place?" asked Mason.

"Number 13 Grimmauld Place."

"That neighbourhood? I could find a safer place," quipped Mason. "That area of the city is dangerous."

"It's where I was told we were staying. Anyway, what could happen? You're already dead." At the dubious looks on their faces he continued his argument. "Look, it's not like I converse with upper management everyday. They usually just send me the names of the soon to be departed. This is the most I have ever gotten from them. It's scary almost."

"Hey guys," interrupted George as a shiver went down her spine. "Do you get the feeling that we are being watched?"

Betty replied, "It's probably just your nerves. Whenever I go somewhere new I feel like everyone is looking at me. I am always worrying that I somehow broke an unsaid rule."

"No, it's not that. I just have this creepy feeling that something's gonna happen."

They never saw the green eyes watching from the shadows across the street. Said person seemed to disappear into thin air once the reapers drove off.

ooo888ooo

Number 13 Grimmauld Place

"This is the place," Roxy asked in disgust. "This neighbourhood looks like its one step from collapsing. I'm surprised the rest of the neighbourhood didn't burn down like the lot next to ours."

"From what I was able to discover, this entire block is owned by one man. It seems that he owned number 12 until it burned down. He decided that he didn't want to move, so he bought the entire block. They never did discover why it burned down or how the rest of the buildings remained intact. In fact, most of the residents don't even remember the fire. For the most part, they don't remember a house or who lived in it."

"Either David Copperfield was in town or the entire block was high on something," Mason quipped. "I'm hoping for the second option."

Shaking his head, Rube said, "I got some good news that you will like. No one will be holding down a job while we're here. We have too much to handle and can't afford a backlog of souls. An account has been set up for our use, though it is only for the essentials."

Mason upon hearing this spoke up. "We have accounts? How come we didn't get any before? We had to work our asses off…"

"Work," interrupted Roxy. "The only one who works is me. And at least George pretends to work. The rest of you bums just take what you can from the dead."

"Okay, while some of us work," relented Mason. "So when can we have access to the accounts? I have a few ideas on how I can use some of that money."

Rube quickly responded, "WE will have access in a couple of days. YOU will only be allowed access with either myself or Roxy with you."

"Hey, don't you trust me?" he asked indignantly. "And what about the others? Why can't they take me?"

"It's not that we don't trust you, but we don't. And you can't trick Roxy or I like you can the others. George is too gullible and Betty might go along with your crazy scheme. She has before."

"What's the name of this bank?" Mason asked in hopes of turning the conversation away from him. "And exactly where is it located?"

"Gringotts something. I'm not sure where it's at. The survivor seems to know where it's at though. When we meet him, he's supposed to take us there."

"Let's go in," yawned George. "You can argue all you want to then. I want to go to bed. From the looks of it, you all could use it."

The man with the green eyes held back a laugh at this. Her sense of humour, dry as it was, brought back memories of better times. Soon it would be time to reveal himself to his new colleagues.

ooo888ooo

Inside Number 13 Grimmauld Place

"The inside looks worse than the outside," complained George. "The walls are peeling and the floor is rotting." Left unsaid was the smell.

Roxy couldn't help but shake her head. "Stop your complaining. It's a place to live or at least reside in. I'm not sure about the living part."

While the others were arguing over the current looks of the house, Betty wandered over to the window to see what kind of view they had in the back yard. Hopefully it was of some nice trees or a garden. What she saw freaked her out. "Guys."

"I was just saying…"

"Guys!" she tried again.

"Not now Betty," said Mason. "Roxy, you can't have the master bedroom just because you're a woman. I should get…"

"GUYS!" she yelled.

"Not now Betty," said Roxy. "I'm trying to knock some manners into this moron."

"GUYS!" she screamed. "Shut up and look at this. You gotta see this." They all saw that she was pointing out the window and had a terrified look upon her face.

"What is it?" asked Mason. "Something not meeting your high standards…."

"Mason," called Rube in worry. Not much really shook Mason up. "You okay? What's out there?"

"Now that is something you don't see everyday," Mason said. "I wonder why they're wearing dresses?"

"Dresses? What do…" began George before she went quite to.

Rube finally got tired of the waiting and walked over to the window to see what the big deal was. What he saw was both amazing and horrifying at the same time.

"Are they some type of Reaper?" asked Betty. "If so, they are taking the theatrics too seriously."

"They looked like the Reapers that are on T.V."

"They are not Reapers," stated Rube. "Though I must admit that I have never seen anything like it before."

They continued to stare up at the sky watching as hundreds of black-cloaked creatures swoop down and attack people wearing funny looking bath robes.

"It's feeding time," said a voice, startling them. "Though I have never seen this many at one time in the city. Reapers seem to attract them for some reason."

"Who are you?" demanded Roxy. "How did you get in here? And I'm warning you, I have a black belt in karate."

"I walked in."

"We figured that," Mason said. "But how did you get in the door? Not even I could pick that heavy metal thing they call a lock."

"I opened it."

"Urrgh," cried Roxy in frustration. "How did you open the door?"

"I turned…"

"Excuse me," interrupted Rube. He was not finding this situation very amusing. "I think what we are trying to say is how did you get in the house when we locked it."

"Questions, always question. Why can't I ever go anywhere without people asking me questions," the stranger ranted. "For once I would like to go somewhere and have people say hi, how are you. Can I do something for you?"

"Um, hi," said George. She figured that it wouldn't hurt. It might even get them somewhere. Plus, he was cute. "How are you?"

"Now that's more like it," he cheered. "I'm doing good. What's for dinner?"

"We had not planned anything yet," admitted Rube. "We just got in. And what makes you think that you're invited?"

"I can help out."

"Dobby," the stranger called. "Please fix some dinner for everyone."

"Great, we got a nut job here," muttered Roxy. "Someone find the phonebook. We'll have to see if any of the nut houses are missing a patient."

"Oh, I know," cried Betty. "The house must have a butler or something."

"Yeah, there is a butler in this run down house," said Roxy sarcastically. "And there is a swimming pool in the basement…"

"Actually, the pool is in the attic," the stranger cut in. "There is a ghoul down there and I like to swim in peace. I also have a hot tub on the fourth floor."

Everyone just looked at him like he was crazy.

"All right," yelled Roxy. "Enough of this. Who are you and how did you get in? And if you don't start giving me straight answers, I'll start knocking some heads."

"A guy can't even walk into his own home without having to prove his identity. Who did you work for when you were alive? Airport security?"

ooo888ooo

Ministry of Magic

"Dumbledore, have you managed to locate the Longbottom boy," Fudge seethed.

"He's gone into hiding and has written that he will not come out until the war is over. He claims that he owes it to his family."

"Owes what? Most of them are dead."

Looking at the minister in disgust, he said, "He feels that the Longbottom line needs to continue. From what I hear, he has taken a wife and plans on starting a family."

"What he wants is not important. With Potter dead, we need a hero and Longbottom is the only one left that fits the prophecy."

"I have much more pressing matters to deal with than dragging a young away from his family. Contrary to what they say, I've learned my lesson. I will not force Longbottom like I did with Harry. We shall have to find another way."

ooo888ooo

Hogwarts  
Order meeting

"Albus, any news from the Ministry," Filius asked in hope.

"Alas, all Fudge wanted was to drag Neville out. I told him I have more pressing matters to deal with."

"Like finding out how our headquarters disappeared from under our feet. I can remember it, though the location and name slips my mind every time I try to think about it."

"The same thing happens to me," Dumbledore relented. "I can only guess that with Harry dead, the ownership went into limbo. He had no will that I know of and I know he removed Bellatrix, Narcissa, and Draco from the family."

"That's a blessing," McGonagall breathed in relief. "Merlin knows what they would do with it."

"Hopefully I can break the charms on the house soon," Dumbledore said. "Then we can move back in."

"Can't we ask the goblins," Hermione asked.

"I've already tried," Bill admitted. "They told me to mind own business and go away. They would only tell me that if there was a lord still alive. Who it is, I have no idea."

ooo888ooo

End Chapter 2

ooo888ooo


	3. Chapter 03 Explanations

Chapter 03- Explanations

"Testing"- Speaking  
_Testing_ – Thoughts and Telepathy

A/N: PLEASE READ. I have re-worked chapters one and two. I have added some and taken out some. Daisy will be in the story. None of my stories will be abandoned.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Dead Like Me. Nor do I claim to.

* * *

Number 13 Grimmauld Place

"Excuse me," Rube said as he rubbed his hands together. _I haven't felt cold in a long time?_ "Did you just say that this is your house? As in your name is on the title?"

"Yeah," the stranger said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. _Why would I be here if I didn't own the place? I thought this guy was supposed to be smart. _"Who'd you think owned it? The Queen?"

"Not to get off track, but doesn't the Queen own all land in England? Georgia asked. "I seem to remember something about that from when I was in school." _Or at least the part I stayed awake for._

"The Queen doesn't even know this place exists," the stranger said. "Even the people who live in the other buildings don't know where it's at. Kind of sucks for them when they want to give directions to their house, but I like my privacy. Let me tell you, that charm took me five months to perfect. For the first month, no one could find their homes. It was kind of funny seeing people searching for their homes and telling police that someone stole it."

"Charm?" asked Betty. "Some kind of bracelet?"

"Not quite," the stranger smirked. "I'm not that good at altering charms, so it took me some time to figure out how to fix the outer edges of the wards but allow people into their homes. I eventually found out that I had to own the land, so I bought it all. I now get a steady income from my tenants. At least I don't have people wandering around looking like idiots anymore."

"That still doesn't explain who you are," Roxy said. "And that also bring up the question of what those things are."

"That's because I haven't told you who I am yet," he smiled. "And those things are called Dementors. I personally can't stand them. They come here every night. Those men in the robes work for the Ministry and are attempting to contain the situation. Every morning they erase the memories of the mundanes. It's a moot point anyway. The Dementors can't hurt anyone who lives here as long as they stay on this street. The idiots out there have never realized that the Dementors never set foot near this place."

"Why not," Betty asked curiously. She was getting excited about all this. Something interesting was finally happening. "Why is this street safe and the surrounding ones not?"

"For the same reason they can't find it," he shrugged. "Look, like I said, I'm not that good at altering charms. I meant to ward just the block but the entire street along side the block was warded also. It was a side effect that I had no idea would happen. Not that I'm complaining. It keeps the Ministry from finding me and the house."

"Why are they after you anyway," Mason asked. "Did you kill someone? Steal something? If so, I'll take it off your hands. I'm pretty sure that I can fence it for you for a small charge."

Ignoring Mason's comment, "Just so you know, everything in this house belongs to me. And it's all protected from thieves. I've had some problems in the past with house guests who were thieves. Don't try to pawn any of my stuff. Anyone who's smart will not take it from you."

"Would you just tell us who you are?"

"I'm surprised that he hasn't figured it out yet," the stranger said while nodding towards Rube. "Though he does seem like the ominous type."

Rube just continued to glare at him, though his glare had nothing on Snape's glare. "I'm afraid that I don't know anyone besides George and Mason with an attitude like yours."

"I'm Harry Potter."

"You're Harry Potter?" Mason asked in disbelief. "You're the strange, mysterious reaper that somehow survived? I thought you be bigger."

"Yep, I think so. Though I don't know so much about surviving anything recently. From what they tell me, I'm dead. Though why I'm a Reaper, it's a mystery. My kind doesn't become Reapers."

"You're the one who owns this house?"

"I believe I said that already."

"You're the one who can lead us to the bank?"

"Yep."

"And you're…"

"Enough already," Roxy yelled in frustration. Mason would've gone on for hours if left unattended. "If you don't start giving us some answers, I'm gonna make you wish that you never died."

"Has anyone ever told you that you look like a bull dog when you get mad," Harry smirked. "My aunt used to have this particular…"

"That's it," Roxy yelled. "He's mine."

Having enough yelling for one night, Rube said, "Quiet. I suggest that we all head to the dining room and eat. We can discuss this over food."

"I'll meet there in a minute," Harry said. "I'm gonna go change clothes."

Trying to get in the good graces of the new guy, Mason whispered, "Word of advice. Never take anything that belongs to Roxy. She gets kinda mad when people do that. Last time, she took a bus and ran me over."

"Thanks. I think," Harry said. As an afterthought, "And the master bedroom is mine. You're in my house, so my rules."

After Harry had walked up there stairs, Betty asked, "Did he just say my kind?"

"He probably meant our kind, Reapers," Rune sighed.

"Then why didn't he say our kind if he meant that. He knows what we are."

"Maybe we'll get some more answers over dinner."

"You actually think he has a butler?" Mason asked.

Looking at each other, the other Reapers walked towards the kitchen in hopes of solving at least one mystery tonight.

ooo888ooo

Kitchen

"He wasn't lying," Roxy said as they stood before the small feast.

"Damn, I think I'm going to like living here," Mason said. Oh, that looks good."

"Maybe you won't have to revert back to your life of crime," Roxy muttered.

"I heard that," he yelled as he stuffed his mouth.

"Shouldn't we wait for our host before devouring his food?"

"Why wait," Mason said. "It's his loss that he's late."

"And it's his food," George said.

"Thank you for your concern, but I don't think it will matter much," Harry said from the doorway. "He seems to be rather occupied."

"I'm Georgia Lass, but please call me George," she said as she stuck out her hand. _If I left it to the others, they would probably never get over their distrust of him. I can understand Roxy, but Rube never acts this…unless he's mad._

"I know," he said as he took her hand. "I'm Harry. And may I say welcome to Black Manor."

"Black Manor," Betty asked.

"And you are?" Harry asked.

"Oh, sorry. I'm Betty Rohmer," she said as she shook his hand. "The pig that walks in a man's skin is Mason."

"Nice to meet you," he smiled. "And this is Black Manor. It was owned by my godfather and passed to me when he died."

"You get to keep your house? No way," George said. "Rube, why did you jump on my case whenever I tried to get anything from my house?"

"Because it's not supposed to be that way," he said glaring at Harry. "I don't know how he managed it, but it will stop. There can be dire consequences if you try to hold on to your old life…"

"Oh, you mean that whole memory thing," Harry said. "They tried that with me but it seems that they've never dealt with my kind before. A combination of my shields and training saved my memories. There're kinda at a loss for what to do with me."

"Charms? Shields? Dementors?" Betty asked. "Can someone please explain to me what's going on?"

"You mean they didn't tell you." Harry asked in surprise.

"They didn't tell me much," Rube said.

"Ah, you must be Rube. Nice to finally meet you…"

"I don't know how they run things over here, but I run a tight ship…"

"Easy, no need to go all dark lord on me," Harry joked. "And just in case you don't know, there is still one more due in."

"What?" Rube asked. "No one told me. Who is it?"

"Her name is Daisy Adair. From what they told me, she was going to join your team anyway."

"When is she due?" Roxy asked.

"Sometime Tomorrow. Dobby is going to pick her up when she calls."

"That's the second time I've heard mention Dobby," Roxy said. "Who is he? Your servant?"

"Kind of," Harry admitted. "I was expecting a call from you all. I guess they never gave you my number."

"You seem to enjoy changing the subject," Rube pointed out. "Is there something that you're trying to hide?"

"After we eat," Harry said. "I'm starving and business shouldn't be discussed over food."

"That's what I'm always saying," Mason said.

ooo888ooo

Library

Harry led the group to the library after a long, uncomfortable dinner.

"So, what do you want to know first," Harry asked as he sat down.

"What happened to the others," Mason asked before anyone could get a word in.

"Why don't we start with an easier question," Harry said rather uncomfortably. "You won't understand unless other questions are answered first."

"Okay, what is it that you do?" George asked. "I mean, you keep mentioning charms and wards."

"It's magic. Plain and simple," he said.

"That's what you mean when you said my kind," Betty said.

"Yes, I'm a wizard and an anomaly. It turns out that wizards are not dealt with by Reapers. We either pass over or choose to become ghosts."

"But you're a Reaper," George pointed out.

"I know," Harry frowned. "That's the confusing part. I do have my theories on what happened but I'm not sharing those at the moment."

"So, you're saying that you can do magic and this entire house is protected by magic?" Roxy asked.

"That about sums it up."

"If you're a wizard, why do you live here? I know it might have some sentimental value, but it's a dump," Mason said. "Even I wouldn't choose to buy this place."

"Oh, sorry about that," Harry said as he pulled out his wand. "It's charmed to look like this for anyone who doesn't belong. Other wizards can't get in and mundanes see a dump…"

"Is that why this place is still standing while the lot next door burned down?" Georgia asked.

"Actually, no," he said. "This lot is that lot."

"That made no sense," Roxy said.

"Yeah, it does," Harry defended. "I accidentally burned down number 13 trying to fix the wards. Since no one was living there at the time, I just played around with the numbers and made it look like number 12 burned down."

"Why go to such lengths for privacy?" Betty asked.

"It's only a back up security measure," he said. "Hopefully, it'll give me a few minutes to figure out what to do if my wards come down. They'll waste time trying to figure out what happened in the burned lot. And because it was done with magic, they will spend more time looking over it."

"If you're not supposed to be a Reaper, what do you do around here," Rube asked.

"I usually just tagged along with one of the others while they were on assignment. We'd usually split the work. I'd take one soul and my partner would take the next one. We would keep switching every time."

"We'll figure out assignments in a day or two," Rube finally said after taking it all in. "We've been given that long to settle in."

"Finally, bed," George said. "Which room is mine?"

"Dobby will show you all to your rooms," Harry said.

"I've been meaning to ask," Roxy started. "Who is Dobby?"

"Dobby," Harry called.

"Master Harry Potter called?" Dobby said excitedly as he bounced on his heels.

"That's Dobby," Harry said dryly.

"Graveling," Betty shrieked when she caught sight of Dobby.

"No, he's not a graveling," Harry laughed. "He's a house-elf. They take care of the manors of the old families."

"If you're sure…"

"Dobby, please take them to their rooms," Harry said. "I'll see you all in the morning."

Before they could stop him, he disappeared with a pop.

"I guess that means the conversation is over," George said.

ooo888ooo

Ministry

"Sir, some muggles just entered zone 14," an Auror reported to his superior.

"So, muggle enter and leave that zone every day. They don't matter to out investigation anymore. We can't even ask them to lead us to their houses. It seems that who ever is hiding there, doesn't want any wizard getting close to the house."

"But sir, these muggles don't live there. They entered the zone and disappeared…"

"That's what happens when you walk into a warded area." _Where are getting these idiots. You'd think they know about wards._

"But they went in five hours ago and haven't left yet. And they aren't in with the other muggles."

"What are you talking about? They can't just disappear."

"We've tagged each of the muggles that live in the area. While we can't see or hear what happens in the houses, we can read life signs within the residence."

"And," the Senior Auror prodded when nothing further was said.

"And they aren't in near any of the other muggles. We figure who ever warded the area focused more on the house itself than the outer perimeter."

"Why would a wizard recluse invite muggle into his house," the Senior Auror mused aloud.

Thinking that he was being asked a question, the Junior Auror replied, "We were kinda thinking that he's a dark wizard and may be using them in some type of ritual."

Shooting his subordinate a glare, he continued. "If we managed to get any pictures of their faces, send them to the muggle ministry and see if they can locate them."

ooo888ooo

End Chapter

ooo888ooo


End file.
